Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works

Manchester, North West, England
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Davyhulme is one of the largest wastewater treatment works (WWTW) in the UK and the largest in the North West of England. It is considered to be the site where modern wastewater treatment was invented more than 100 years ago. This WWTW services over one million people in and around the key northern powerhouse city of Manchester.

1 million people

guaranteed safe, clean water

5,569 litres per second

of treated effluent

All pictures are provided courtesy of Laing O'Rourke

The plant is a vital asset for the local community and surrounding environment. However, the key primary and secondary treatment assets of Davyhulme date back as far as the 1960s, and are therefore inefficient compared to modern treatment plants. The constant tightening of permit limits, accompanied by population growth, presents a risk of further inefficiency if improvements are not made.

Working as part of a collaborative design and build team, Arcadis, in a joint venture with Mott MacDonald, was appointed by Laing O’Rouke to help United Utilities modernise the plant. This work commenced in 2014 and will be completed in 2018.

The design team is responsible for providing specialist engineering support for the upgrade. This includes civil, structural, geotechnical and hydraulic design, using state-of-the-art Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) techniques to design a new process stream alongside the existing plant. This approach ensured that the existing works could remain operational throughout the construction period.

Investment also significantly reduced the impact of the WWTW on the environment and, thanks to the use of the latest technology, will ensure a cleaner and greener treatment process.

The new and extended treatment works will bring increased reliability at reduced operating costs, ensuring that Davyhulme WWTW is capable of meeting the long-term demands of the Manchester area it serves.

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